Festuca ovina
Festuca ovina
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
Festuca ovina is a very versatile species found from near sea level to high elevations in the mountains. It grows in a wide range of climates in the temperate zone and has a high resistance to cold[1, 2]. Prefers a light well-drained soil in full sun[3]. The plant is restricted to very dry soils in the wild, only growing on soils very poor in nutrients that can be very acid or, at the opposite, basic. It can be found on sandy soils or on very shallow stony soils originating from very diverse parental rocks[2]. .A drought resistant plant once established[4], it succeeds on shallow chalky soils[5]. Plants are intolerant of wet soils[2]. Tolerant of constant cutting, this plant is often grown in lawns[4]. This is an extremely polymorphic species with a natural distribution throughout temperate and cold parts of the N hemisphere. Numerous variants have been recognized at infraspecific rank, often from different habitats and based on small differences in pubescence, size, proportion of vegetative and floral parts, and other characters[6].
Propagation
Seed - sow spring in situ[7]. The seed usually germinates within three weeks. Division in spring[7]. Very easy, the clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Festuca+ovina>
Pollinators
Wind
References
- [1]Plants Database — United States Department of Agriculture · http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet ↩︎An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
- [2]Grassland Species - Profiles — http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Gbase/Default.htm ↩︎Terse information on over 650 species of plants that grow in grassland, including trees, shrubs and perennial plants as well as grasses. Gives a brief description of the plant, its range and habitat and some of its uses.
- [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
- [4]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
- [5]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
- [6]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
- [7]Ornamental Grasses. — Grounds. R. · Christopher Helm · 1989 · ISBN 0-7470-1219-9 ↩︎Cultivation details of many of the grasses and bamboos. Well illustrated.
- [8]Flora of the British Isles. — Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. · Cambridge University Press · 1962 · ISBN - ↩︎A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
- [9]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
- [10]Food Plants of the N. American Indians. — Yanovsky. E. · U.S. Depf of Agriculture. · ISBN - ↩︎A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.
- [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎